


By Any Other Name

by I_Am_Bella_Donna



Series: The Demons No One Sees [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Episode: My NEGATIVE Thinking, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Misunderstandings, Pre-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26399791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_Bella_Donna/pseuds/I_Am_Bella_Donna
Summary: Sometimes, a simple slip of the tongue can reveal more information than conversations ever could….People are not always what they seem.Disclaimer: I do not own Sanders Sides or any of its characters.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Series: The Demons No One Sees [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918717
Comments: 18
Kudos: 99





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> CONTENT WARNINGS: ARGUING, IMPLIED/REFERENCED ABUSE

Roman groaned and collapsed on his bed, every muscle screaming in protest as he scowled up at the ceiling. The entire day had been an absolute _dumpster fire_ , and as usual, a certain Emo Nightmare had been the one responsible!

The audition was supposed to be perfect. Thomas had spent _eons_ reviewing his part—he had practiced countless times; rehearsed until his performance was nothing less than absolutely stellar. His tone, his expressions—it was _flawless_. Thomas had the audition in the bag.

Or, he _would_ have, if that stupid _Anxiety_ had not stepped in and ruined everything!

Roman snarled and, against his body’s protests, drove his fist into his pillow. Thomas had started the audition off as feeling fine—excited, absolutely, but not nervous in the slightest.

And then Marylin Morose had intervened.

Everything had begun to fall apart the moment Anxiety got involved. Thomas sang the first notes of his song _beautifully_ —and then he froze, his mouth slightly ajar and no sound coming out, save for the faint passing of air. He stood there like a fool for a good thirty seconds before Roman was able to override Anxiety’s influence and get through to Thomas. Luckily, the director was nice enough to offer Thomas a second chance, but by then, the damage was already done—quite literally, if the bruises decorating Roman’s skin were any indication.

And yet, by the time he had managed to fix himself up enough to rise up, he had been met with the shocking sight of not only Logan and Anxiety _getting along_ , but Logan using slang.

_Correctly._

Saying that he was shocked would be an understatement. Anxiety had ensnared Patton in his trap months ago, but Roman had never imagined that _Logan_ of all Sides would fall for his act, especially not after an incident so severe. If he dropped his guard now, who _knew_ what that scoundrel would do to his famILY! Those _Dark Sides_ could never be trusted, after all.

He knew that all too well.

Roman felt his hands absentmindedly trace the long scar on his torso, running all the way from his right hip to just below his left shoulder. Over the course of his life as a Side, he had fought many battles in the Imagination. However, even though he occasionally got banged up, he had always won every fight he got himself into.

Every fight except for one.

Roman and Remus had never spoken of _that day_ since. Well—they had barely spoken, period, since that day, but during their few interactions, Remus had changed his behavior drastically. He became far less violent and cruel—Roman would even go as far as to say he was almost sheepish in his actions. He may not have always gotten along with his brother, but he preferred their petty arguing to any deep-rooted hatred any day. Thus, he did the princely thing and tried his best to forgive his brother for his bout of rage that day.

Forgive, but never forget.

However, _Anxiety_ was not his brother. And unlike Remus, who had changed his ways and rarely showed up in the Light Mindscape, that—that _dark and stormy night_ was constantly ruining everything!

Roman sighed and pushed himself onto his elbows, deciding that trying to sleep at the moment would be a fool’s errand. Perhaps a glass of warm milk would help to ease his mind. 

Gingerly, he stood on his feet and began to make his way to the kitchen, humming under his breath for most of the journey. He held his breath and tiptoed as he passed the bedrooms of Patton and Logan—both of their lights were on, but he did not want to bother them. 

Did not want them to see him in his current state.

Once he was confident that they would not be able to hear him, he resumed his humming. As he stepped into the kitchen, he flicked on the lights—

—and most certainly did _not_ let out a shriek at the sight of a certain black-clothed emo standing in the middle of the kitchen.

_“Holy freaking heck!”_ Roman exclaimed, his hand flying to his chest. “My _god_ , are you _trying_ to give someone a heart attack?”

Anxiety sneered, seemingly unfazed. “ _I’m_ not the one who barged into the kitchen at half past midnight, Princey.”

Roman gaped, dumbfounded. Standing before him was the very villain who had all but _ruined_ everything that day, and now he was—what, acting like he owned the place? “You’re accusing _me_ of barging in? You don’t even live here!” He threw his hands into the air with a frustrated groan, not noticing how the other flinched at the movement. “Why aren’t you in the Dark Mindscape with your creepy friends?”

“Not really your business, but I was invited up here.”

Roman rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with Anxiety. “Who in their right mind would _willingly_ spend time with you?” he asked, only being half-sarcastic. Sure, they put up with him, but since when did any of them invite Anxiety over?

“Patton spends time with me,” the side in question muttered, voice a tad softer than expected. Roman frowned for a second before dismissing it—Count Woe-laf was probably just being his usual angsty self. 

“He does, although I can’t possibly understand why,” Roman agreed, grabbing a carton of milk from the refrigerator and a mug from the cupboard. “But luckily, when he finds out what you did today, he’ll probably throw you out. Then the rest of us won’t have to deal with you anymore.” The last part was said more to himself than Anxiety. Things had used to be so pleasant—so _easy_ —before the other had started hanging around the Light Mindscape. If Patton started inviting him around, who knew what other changes would happen? 

_…Would Anxiety hurt Logan and Patton the same way Remus hurt me?_

He shoved the thought down.

Anxiety shot Roman a glare. “Patton doesn’t blame me. Makes sense, too, seeing as _I’m_ not to one in charge of those stupid lyrics in the first place!” he said.

Roman barely suppressed his wince at the sharp pain in his chest. While ego blows only did physical damage when they came from Thomas, that did not make his own emotional pain any more bearable. A moment later, however, the pain gave way to fury. After all, _Roman_ had not been the one to hurt Thomas! _How dare he—_

“Oh, shut _up_ , Crusher of Dreams!” Roman shouted, slamming his freshly-poured cup of milk on the counter. “This is _your_ fault, and the rest of us are the ones who have to suffer!”

“Get over yourself, Ro—”

“ _Me?!_ Get over myself?! When _you_ are the one whose failure cost Thomas his audition?!” Roman seethed. “You should just go back to your half of the Mindscape before I kick you back there myself!”

Anxiety paled considerably but kept a straight face. “I can’t believe _I’m_ the one saying this, but dude, you need to chill out. Maybe listen to Logan for once in yo—”

Roman felt his anger boil over at that statement. How _dare_ Anxiety come in here and lecture him, like—

_How dare he act like_ I _am the villain!_

Before he even knew what he was doing, his hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists and he had stormed over to the other. _“Maybe I should teach you a lesson!”_ he screamed, cutting Anxiety off. He raised a hand, about to jab the other into his chest, when—

_“Wait, Remus, I’m sorry!”_

Roman froze as Anxiety slammed himself back into the counter, dropping his mug as his hands flew up to shield his face. The ceramic mug shattered on the tile, splashing a warm liquid—tea, Roman registered it as faintly—on both of their feet. He suddenly became very aware of his position—within arm’s reach of Anxiety, one hand in a tight fist and the other raised slightly. Meanwhile, Anxiety was cowering and staring at him through his arms, his eyes glistening and his breaths coming in pants.

_Remus._

Roman unfroze and stumbled backward, his words stuck in his throat and the flame of his anger snuffing out. Anxiety had mistaken him for his _brother_ —had actually thought he would—he would—

“I—Anxiety?” he asked tentatively, raising his hands in what he hoped was a placating manner. The other was breathing heavily. At the moment, Anxiety looked nothing like a strong and fearsome villain—if anything, he looked like a frightened child. “Um—are you…all right?”

Anxiety swallowed hard and slowly lowered his arms, wiping his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Shut up,” he hissed, not looking Roman in the eyes.

He frowned, despising the slight concern that was bubbling up inside him. “Are you su—”

_“Just_ drop _it, Princey!”_ Anxiety spat, raising his glare to look at Roman, who actually took a step back at the sheer _hatred_ in his gaze. With that, Anxiety sunk out, leaving Roman to clean up his mess. As usual.

Roman scoffed, any feelings of worry he may have held for the other shriveling up and dying. “That’s the last time I try to be nice to that Emo Nightmare,” he huffed, taking out a broom and dustpan.

However, even as he tried to dismiss the interaction, he could not shake the feeling that something was very wrong. Why had Anxiety thought Roman was Remus? And why had he expected him to—to what? To hit him? To slap him?

…What information was Roman missing?

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning on making this into a series of one-shots. Would anyone be interested in that? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> -Bella


End file.
